Merkel not attending Davos Global Economic Forum

Financial Times: «The reason for the cancellation of the visit was a new wave of criticism of the immigration policy, that Merkel faced after the attacks in Cologne."

Against the backdrop of the scandal, which was caused by a massive attack on women in Cologne on New Year's night, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel has canceled her visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos. German government claims that the Head of the Federal Republic of Germany, had not planned to go to the WEF in the first place, so there was no cancellation. Meanwhile, Minister of Justice of Germany, Heiko Maas said that Cologne attacks were planned in advance.

The World Economic Forum will be held in Davos, Switzerland, from 20 to 23 January 2016 . Merkel attended all of the WEF meetings in recent years, but this time decided to cancel the trip. Earlier, Financial Times reported that Merkel had cancelled her trip because of the criticism she faced regarding her immigration policy, after the recent events in Cologne where a large group of women were assaulted by migrants on the New Year’s day.

At the same time, a government source informed TASS, that German Chancellor was not going to go to the Davos forum. " The chancellor did not cancel participation in the forum, as she did not plan to participate in it, " said the interviewee, commenting on the publication in the British Financial Times. The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag published an interview with the Head of the German Ministry of Justice. Maas, called the incident "an unprecedented level of organized crime " and said that the attacks , which were attended by hundreds of men of Arab and North African origin, could have been prepared in advance, "Interfax" reports .

Maas is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which is part of the "grand coalition" with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Under public pressure, SPD known for defending the rights of minorities, will support the leaders of the CDU in introducing tougher laws against migrant criminals. Last weekend, the leaders of the CDU supported the plans to give judges the right of deporting immigrants convicted of serious crimes.

Merkel , commenting on the initiative, said that "the criminals must feel the full force of the law " and noted that the ammendment will work not only in the interests of the citizens of Germany, but also in the interests of the majority of refugees. Merkel faced criticism for soft immigration policy not only from the supporters of the Christian Democratic Union, but also from the conservatives and the liberals .

Euroskeptic party "Alternative for Germany " calls for the resignation of the Chancellor. Liberal "Free Democratic Party of Germany" warns that Merkel faces a "crisis of confidence" from the citizens of Germany. After the events in Cologne, more than 500 women filed complaints to the police. And 40% of them complained of sexual harassment . Many victims say that they were attacked by migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. German police received more than 600 allegations of attacks by migrants.